Harland Sanders

Claudia Sanders, 94, a restaurateur and the widow of fried chicken legend Col. Harland Sanders, died Dec. 31 in Shelbyville, Ky. She met Senders in the 1930s while working as a waitress at his first restaurant in Corbin, Ky. By the time they married in 1949, Sanders had begun helping "the Colonel" build a fast-food empire. By 1963, the couple had 600 chicken outlets. They were sold the next year to John Y. Brown, who later became governor of Kentucky.

The handwritten note that Tommy and Cherry Settle discovered in their basement a year ago could be the answer to one of the country's best-kept culinary secrets: Col. Harland Sanders' recipe for fried chicken. Last week, KFC filed a sealed lawsuit in Shelby County Circuit Court asking that the piece of paper found by the Settles be given to the company. Judge William Stewart said he plans to sign an order today unsealing the lawsuit.

The handwritten note that Tommy and Cherry Settle discovered in their basement a year ago could be the answer to one of the country's best-kept culinary secrets: Col. Harland Sanders' recipe for fried chicken. Last week, KFC filed a sealed lawsuit in Shelby County Circuit Court asking that the piece of paper found by the Settles be given to the company. Judge William Stewart said he plans to sign an order today unsealing the lawsuit.

Claudia Sanders, 94, a restaurateur and the widow of fried chicken legend Col. Harland Sanders, died Dec. 31 in Shelbyville, Ky. She met Senders in the 1930s while working as a waitress at his first restaurant in Corbin, Ky. By the time they married in 1949, Sanders had begun helping "the Colonel" build a fast-food empire. By 1963, the couple had 600 chicken outlets. They were sold the next year to John Y. Brown, who later became governor of Kentucky.

Jack C. Massey, who helped build Kentucky Fried Chicken Co. into an international success and co-founded Hospital Corp. of America, died today at a Palm Beach, Fla., hospital. He was 85. Massey died of pneumonia at Good Samaritan Hospital early this morning, said Mimi Scruggs, his secretary at Massey Investment Co. in Nashville. Massey, who retired from the company in 1978, had been staying at his winter home in Florida.

On Western Avenue, amid a jumble of triangles and parallelograms devoid of any corrupting influence of Greco-Roman, Georgian or Rococo architecture, Col. Harland Sanders' head rears up as colossal and triumphant as Chairman Mao Tse-tung's on any Cultural Revolution display. Upon closer inspection, there are other odd similarities between the two global personalities: Like Chairman Mao, Col. Sanders would award himself that quasi-military title that confers power.

Pssst. The secret's out at KFC. Well, sort of. Col. Harland Sanders' handwritten recipe of 11 herbs and spices was removed Tuesday from safekeeping at Kentucky Fried Chicken's corporate offices for the first time in decades. The temporary relocation is allowing KFC to revamp security around a yellowing sheet of paper that contains one of the country's most famous corporate secrets. The brand's top executive admitted that his nerves were aflutter despite the tight security he lined up for the operation.

Kentucky Fried Chicken is trying to put the sizzle back into its fast-food business by adding charcoal-grilled chicken to a menu now led by its much copied fried chicken. The restaurant chain is trying to lift profits out of a recent downward trend by adding non-fried chicken products and expanding lunchtime business in the United States, its president, John Cranor III, said. A subsidiary of Pepsico Inc., Louisville-based Kentucky Fried Chicken Corp.

Jack C. Massey, whose millions helped build Kentucky Fried Chicken Co. into an international franchise empire, has died of pneumonia at age 85. Massey, who also was a co-founder of Hospital Corp. of America, died Thursday at a hospital in Palm Beach, Fla., said Mimi Scruggs, his secretary at Massey Investment Co. in Nashville. Massey, who took three companies to the New York Stock Exchange, retired in 1978 and had been staying at his winter home in Florida.

What would winning NASCAR's Chase for the Cup mean to Dale Earnhardt Jr.? Earnhardt, who has 18 race victories in his career and more than $52 million in winnings, was quick with his answer when asked by the Associated Press. "It would improve my overall awesomeness," he said. Awesomeness? "Yeah. I worked on greatness for a while, but I tapped it out." On Sunday, awesomeness took a slight dent as Earnhardt finished fifth in the first Chase race, at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

KFC's fried chicken buckets soon will be stamped with a health message along with the likeness of its founder, Col. Harland Sanders. The banner proclaims that its chicken has zero grams of trans fat per serving. The chain will announce today that all 5,500 of its U.S. restaurants have stopped frying chicken in artery-clogging trans fat. The company had said in October that it was switching to a new soybean oil believed to be less likely to cause heart disease.